Malazan Book of the Fallen

From Freepedia

Malazan Book of the Fallen is a fantasy series by Steven Erikson, consisting of five books as of 2004 and projected to be ten books long in total. It is an epic military-type fantasy, wide in scope and encompassing the stories of a very large cast of characters. Each book tells a different chapter in the ongoing saga of the Malazan Empire and its wars. Each book is self-contained, in that the primary conflict of each novel is resolved within that novel. However, many underlying characters and events are delicately interwoven throughout the works of this highly complex series, binding it together.

The Malazan series is often compared both to Glen Cook's Black Company, and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. It is like Song of Ice and Fire in that both are epic-length fantasies consisting of doorstop-sized novels, deal with war and have a large cast of characters. They are also contemporaries, so the comparison is natural enough. It is like the Black Company series in that both are gritty and almost-gratuitously violent, sometimes depressingly-so. Both also deal with large, faceless military campaigns and one can draw parallels between the Malazan Bridgeburners Company and Cook's Black Company.

Contents 1 Books in the Series 2 Magic 3 Deck of Dragons - the Fatid (and associated Ascendants) 4 Current Houses and Holds: 4.1 High House Life 4.2 High House Death 4.3 High House Light 4.4 High House Darkness 4.5 High House Shadow 4.6 High House Chains 4.7 Azath Hold 4.8 Beast Hold 4.9 Dragon Hold 4.10 Empty Hold 4.11 Ice Hold 4.12 Unaligned, the Fulcra 5 Ascendants 6 Elder Gods 7 External Links

Books in the Series

1. Gardens of the Moon (1999)
2. Deadhouse Gates (2000)
3. Memories of Ice (2001)
4. House of Chains (2002)
5. Midnight Tides (2004)
6. The Bonehunters (due for release in 2006)
7. Reapers Gale (due for release in 2006)
8. Toll of the Hounds (due for release in 2007)
9. Dust of Dreams (due for release in 2008)
10. The Crippled God (due for release in 2009)

Magic

Magic in the Malazan series is accomplished by opening a warren or rarely, though forgotten, taking magic from within. Magic can also be taken by spirits. Typical effects involve large-scale energy blasts, and ethereal travel 'through' the warren. Ordinary humans cannot access warrens, but mages have access to one or two (in most cases) or more than seven (in extremes). In addition, certain elder races have access to racial warrens, that seem to be significantly more powerful. As well, power can be accessed by way of Holds, although this is seen as crude and inefficient, if potentially very powerful. It it possible that certain warrens are descended from Holds, as many human warrens are descended from Elder Warrens (Telas from Tellan, etc.)

Warrens are, in some cases, both a power and a physical realm, or just one or the other. Within some of the warrens that serve as physical realms dwell rulers or races. As well, some warrens manifest with variations in different parts of the human realm, resulting in a certain duplication of purpose (i.e., Meanas and Rashan, both essentially being Warrens of Shadow).

The Elder Warrens (some are called Holds):

• Starvald Demelain: The Eleint, the First Warren (Tiam, the First Warren); also Dragon Hold
• Kurald Galain: The Tiste Andii Elder Warren of Darkness
• Kurald Emurlahn: The Tiste Edur Elder Warren of Shadow, the Shattered Warren; also the Empty Hold (in one part); various pieces now serve various rulers or none.
• Kurald Thyrllan: The Elder Warren of Light (Tiste Liosan)
• Omtose Phellack: The Elder Jaghut Warren of Ice; also the Ice Hold
• Tellan: The Elder Imass Warren of Fire

Warrens accessible to humans:

• Denul: The Path of Healing
• D'Riss: The Path of the Stone
• Hood's Path: The Path of Death
• Imperial: Formerly Kallor's Empire, made into a warren.
• Meanas: The Path of Shadow and Illusion
• Mockra: The Path of the Mind
• Ruse: The Path of the Sea
• Rashan: The Path of Darkness
• Serc: The Path of the Sky
• Telas: The Path of Fire
• Tennes: The Path of the Land
• Thyr: The Path of Light

The above has in part been taken from: This online FAQ

Deck of Dragons - the Fatid (and associated Ascendants)

The Deck of Dragons resembles a Tarot card deck in that it consists of cards that divine the future. The difference is that a real Deck of Dragons adjusts itself to the changing circumstances of the Pantheon (gods). If an entity ascends or dies the deck will reflect this fact.

The deck was build up of Holds before the Houses came into play. Original Hold card names are prefixed with Hold:. Entries after the title are the current holders of the title.

Current Houses and Holds:

High House Life

• King
• Queen: Queen of Dreams
• Champion:
• Priest:
• Herald:
• Soldier:
• Weaver:
• Mason:
• Virgin:

High House Death

• King: Hood
• Queen:
• Knight: once Dassem Ultor, now Baudin
• Magi: Talamandas
• Herald:
• Soldier:
• Spinner:
• Mason:
• Virgin:

High House Light

• King:
• Queen:
• Champion: Osseric
• Priest:
• Captain:
• Soldier:
• Seamstress:
• Builder:
• Maiden:

High House Darkness

• King:
• Queen:
• Knight: Anomander Rake (Anomandaris Irake)
• Magi:
• Captain:
• Soldier:
• Weaver:
• Mason:
• Wife:

High House Shadow

• King: Shadowthrone, Ammanas; formerly the Malazan Emperor Kellanved
• Queen:
• Assassin: Cotillion/Rope, formerly Dancer; shared role with Kalam
• Magi:
• Hound: Baran, Blind, Doan, Ganrod, Gear, Rood, Shan

High House Chains

• The King in Chains: the Crippled God (also called Lord in House of Chains)
• King: Kallor (in Memories of Ice)
• Mortal Sword: Rhulad Sengar
• Consort: Poliel?
• Reaver: (Kallor? in House of Chains)
• Knight: The Teblor Thelomen Toblakai Karsa Orlong
• The Seven of the Deadfires: The Unbound (now Six), T'lan Imass renegades.
• Cripple:
• Leper: Silgar, slavemaster - slain by Karsa Orlong in House of Chains
• Fool:
• Magi: Bidithal, High Mage with the Apocalypse, slain by Karsa Orlong
• Herald: Gethol (formerly Herald of Hood - see Memories of Ice)

Azath Hold

(As defined on the Letheri continent)

• Heartstone: The Azath Hold of Letheras, now dead.
• Keeper
• Portal
• Path
• Mason
• Tomb
• Guest
• Barrow
• Root
• Wall

Beast Hold

• Bone Perch: Togg & Fanderay
• Elder
• Crone
• Seer
• Shaman
• Hunter
• Tracker

Dragon Hold

(Also Starvald Demelain)

• Queen: Tiam
• Consort
• Liege: Draconus
• Knight: Anomandaris Irake
• Gate
• Wyval
• The Lady: Envy
• The Sister: Spite
• Blood-Drinker
• Path-Shaper: K'rul

Empty Hold

• Empty Throne: Claimed by Shadowthrone, to prevent Edur rule.
• Wanderer
• Mistress
• Watcher
• Walker
• Saviour
• Betrayer

Ice Hold

• Ice Throne
• Walker
• Huntress
• Shaper
• Bearer
• Child
• Seed

Unaligned, the Fulcra

(Includes Letherii defined)

• Chain
• Crown
• The Errant, possible Elder God, somewhat active in Lether
• Master of the Deck: Ganoes Paran
• Obelisk: Burn (Hold: Menhir)
• Orb
• Oponn: the Jesters of Chance
• Scepter
• Throne
• Pack: Jheck god of Soletaken, itself D'ivers. Now dead.
• Shapefinder

Ascendants

• Anomandaris Irake: Knight of High House Darkness, leader of most Tiste Andii in the human realms as Anomander Rake, lord of Moon's Spawn; Soletaken Eleint
• Apsalar: Lady of Thieves. Also the name Sorry takes when freed from Cotillion's possession.
• Beru: Lord of Storms
• Burn: Lady of the Earth, the Sleeping Goddess
• Caladan Brood: The Warlord, bearer of Burn's Hammer, friend of Anomander Rake.
• Cotillion/The Rope: The Assassin of High House Shadow, formerly Dancer, foremost Assassin of the Malazan Empire and founder of the Talon.
• Dessembrae: Lord of Tragedy
• D'rek: The Worm of Autumn (sometimes the Queen of Disease, see Poliel)
• Fanderay: She-Wolf of Winter
• Fener: The Boar (bereft, see also Tennerock)
• Gedderone: Lady of Spring and Rebirth
• Menandore: Sister Dawn, daughter of Osric and Tiam
• Scabandari Bloodeye: Father Shadow (Emurlahnis), God of the Tiste Edur in the human realms, slain in body and imprisoned in spirit by the Elder Gods; Soletaken Eleint
• Sheltatha Lore: Dusk, daughter of Scabandari Bloodeye and ?
• Silchas Ruin: Brother of Anomandaris Irake, a leader of the Tiste Andii before his betrayal by Scabandari and subsequent imprisonment in an Azath House. Escaped or released in Midnight Tides.
• Sukul Ankhadu: Dapple, daughter of Osric and Tiam

Elder Gods

• K'rull, recently re-introduced to mortal affairs, God of Warrens
• Mael, Elder God of the Seas, largely quiscient for millenia
• Kilmandaros
• Sister of Cold Nights, also Nightchill
• Draconus, maker of Dragnipuir but also its prisoner (by Anomander Rake), father of Envy and Spite
• Osseric/Osric, Father Light, absent god of the Tiste Liosan, Soletaken Eleint
• Sechul Lath

External Links

• Malazan Book of the Fallen series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• online FAQ